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In India, under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (the “Takeover Regulations”), there exists a mandatory tender offer regime for acquisition of listed companies.  Under this regime, both, the acquisition of a substantial shareholding stake (25%) and the acquisition of “control” are treated equally, and require…

In a recent judgment in the matter of Coastal Marine Construction and Engineering Limited v. Garware-Wall Ropes Limited, the Bombay High Court (the “Bombay HC”) has examined whether Indian courts can act upon an unstamped arbitration agreement to constitute an arbitration panel.  This judgment is important in the backdrop of the amendment to Section 11…

In 2006, the Indian government introduced the concept of a director identification number (“DIN”), and consequently, an individual could be appointed as a director of a company only if he or she had obtained a DIN.  A DIN is allotted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs upon receipt of an application in a prescribed form…

Consolidated reporting form for foreign investment transactions On June 7, 2018, the Reserve Bank of India (the “RBI”) released a circular (the “Circular”) changing the reporting formats in all transactions involving issuance, or transfer of shares of Indian companies to foreign investors or vice versa.  Formerly, this was done by filing the Forms FC-GPR and…

In India, each State has its own Shops and Establishments law which regulates the working conditions of employees engaged in shops and commercial establishments, other than in factories.  On December 19, 2017, the new Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service Act), 2017 (“New Shops Act”) was made effective, which replaced…

The Companies Act, 1956 permitted inbound mergers, i.e., merger of a foreign company into an Indian company.  Even then, there were no foreign exchange regulations on inbound mergers.  A key change that was introduced by the Companies Act, 2013 (the “Companies Act”) was to enable outbound mergers as well, i.e., merger of an Indian company…

Introduction On March 16, 2018, the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2018 (the “Amendment Act”), which amends the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (the “Act”) and the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946 (the “Rules”) to allow fixed term employment for all sectors.  Further,…

Introduction India’s Union Budget (the “Budget”) was announced on February 1, 2018, and the Finance Bill, 2018 (the “Finance Bill”) was tabled in Parliament.  Most of the income tax proposals in the Finance Bill will be effective from the financial year commencing on April 1, 2018, unless specified otherwise. The Finance Bill will be discussed…

Introduction On January 10, 2018, the Indian government approved a number of amendments to India’s Foreign Direct Investment Policy (the “FDI Policy”) with a view to further improve the ease of doing business in India.  The reforms cover single brand retail trading, civil aviation, construction development, power exchanges and the medical devices sector.  In addition,…

India’s Companies Act, 2013 Over the last five (5) years, India has adopted a new company law regime under the Companies Act, 2013 (the “Act”) and the rules thereunder.  Since its implementation, the Act has been amended once in 2015, and various clarifications and amendments have been issued to the rules by the Indian government….